First measure of Drowsy Maggie.

[daLimuHead]

(I also posted this on TheSession.org.)

How do you finger the jumping 5ths in the opening measures of Drowsy Maggie?

On my ukulele tuned in 5ths I use my first finger to fret the E, and my second finger to fret the B.

On the two mandolins I have there is not enough room to use the second finger on the B, so I’ve been trying to use one fingertip to cover all 4 strings. The most I can manage to cover is 3 only strings.

I’ve tried a partial bar without adjusting my thumb position using the flat part of my 1st finger, and have had some minor success.

Using a full bar (moving the thumbpad to the back of the neck) works, but is too slow to work musically for me.

Fretting the notes individually is too slow and creates too much staccato, impeding the flow of the music.

Can anyone recommend other techniques that may work?

Thank you!
Aldon

[Dave Reiner]

(I also posted this on TheSession.org.)

How do you finger the jumping 5ths in the opening measures of Drowsy Maggie?

On my ukulele tuned in 5ths I use my first finger to fret the E, and my second finger to fret the B.

On the two mandolins I have there is not enough room to use the second finger on the B, so I’ve been trying to use one fingertip to cover all 4 strings. The most I can manage to cover is 3 only strings.

I’ve tried a partial bar without adjusting my thumb position using the flat part of my 1st finger, and have had some minor success.

Using a full bar (moving the thumbpad to the back of the neck) works, but is too slow to work musically for me.

Fretting the notes individually is too slow and creates too much staccato, impeding the flow of the music.

Can anyone recommend other techniques that may work?

Thank you!
Aldon

When I'm playing fiddle, I use the technique you described on Drowsy Maggie and other tunes: a partial bar without adjusting my thumb position. There are only 2 strings to cover (vs. 4 on mando), but you have to place your finger a bit toward the D string to hit the exact same spot on each string to stay in tune on the fiddle. When I'm playing it on mandolin, I use the same technique, flattening my first finger just a bit. There are 4 strings to cover, but you don't have to hit them all in the same place because the fret helps you out.

I occasionally use different fingers on the same fret (your example of 1st finger for E and 2nd for B), but never on adjacent strings.

Some guitar players tend to play more in a full bar position when on mandolin (since they're used to bar chords on guitar), but this can feel awkward if you're used to fiddle and mandolin.

My 2 cents :-).
Dave

[A 4]

Please let us know what TheSession says? I usually only use one finger for two course when I am playing chords. Usually what happens is the outside of each pair is muted, and the inside of the pair sound out fine. I wouldn't do that for melody playing though, as it is likely to be buzzy.

Someone gave me a suggestion for Drowsy Maggie. They suggested using the fingertip on the low string like normal, and rather than trying to lift and get to the higher string on the same fret, just kind of roll onto the higher string. You end up playing with more of the pad of your finger than the tip, but it worked for me.

[daLimuHead]

OP here.

Thank you for your input! I discovered the technique that works for me on my Weber Aspen with a flat fretboard.

If I finger the E note normally and roll my finger without flattening it to get the B, I get a clearer more musical sound that I can play in tempo! Part of what was impeding me was flattening the finger instead of rolling it.

Getting it to work on my Eastman 315 is elusive because of its 12" radius fretboard. I’m sure practice will help.

The responses on TheSession were overwhelmingly (maybe 10 responses) in favor of using the index finger to cover all four strings.

The recommendation to roll the finger was a lightbulb moment for me!

Thank you,
Aldon

[A 4]

Woo hoo! Sometimes it is the littlest things.

db

[whistler]

The responses on TheSession were overwhelmingly (maybe 10 responses) in favor of using the index finger to cover all four strings.

I assume, by 'all four' you mean the two pairs of strings (D and A), not all the strings of the mandolin (a full barre in this situation seems like a waste of effort and unnecessarily restrictive).

What works for you may depend somewhat on the shape of your fingers (and the spacing of your strings). My index finger seems to be fat enough to cover the D and A strings simultaneously, without any need for rolling – but if rolling your finger helps, go for it. I have my finger angled back from the fret, not parallel to it, with my thumb resting towards the top edge of the neck, not against the back of it.

[maxr]

On a related tune, what do you guys do on Tamlin/The Glasgow Reel? Bars 2-3 of that tune has a motif that I play on fiddle by placing my 2nd finger (bar 2) then 3rd finger (bar 3) on the G string and rocking it over to cover the D:



Do you flatten your finger across the G and D when you need to play the F (bar 2) then G (bar 3), or what?

Thanks, Max

[Bren]

I just use one of my sausage-like fingers in all the examples above. 2nd then 3rd respectively for the two phrases in bar 2 of maxr's example

Roll the finger as necessary and just use maximum pressure only when required.